Pistons 125, Magic 121

A state of hysteria that may become known in Central Florida as Magic Fever waned just a bit Friday night, as the Orlando Magic, playing without injured center Dave Corzine, lost, 125-121, to Detroit.

Orlando, proud owner of a two-game winning streak, pushed Detroit, defending NBA champions, to the final seconds despite missing Corzine, who was at home nursing a knee he injured against Cleveland on Wednesday. His replacement, Mark Acres, didn't have an impact on the game. Acres had six points in 23 minutes.

But the Magic (2-2) battled fiercely, once forging a 12-point lead early in the third period. And their hustle and unabashed enthusiasm pleased an announced sellout crowd of 15,077 at Orlando Arena. When the game was over, the fans gave the Magic a standing ovation.

Detroit (2-3) was in a mild slump and needed a victory. The guard tandem of Isiah Thomas (29 points) and Joe Dumars (26) was too much for the Magic.

Magic Coach Matt Guokas refused to dwell on any negatives.

''You are not happy, you are not satisfied when you don't win the ballgame, but our guys gave the effort and they were right there at the end,'' Guokas said.

Victory was within the Magic's grasp with 31 seconds left. Detroit led, 120-119, and Orlando called a timeout.

Guokas diagrammed a play for guard Reggie Theus, and he got the ball on the right side of the court, isolated one-on-one against Dumars.

But Dumars showed why he is one of the best guards in the league. He played perfect defense against Theus, then sped downcourt to score a layup that clinched the game.

Dumars crowded Theus as much as he could without fouling, and Theus missed a tough turnaround jumper from 16 feet. John Salley grabbed the rebound for Detroit, dribbled out of traffic and fed downcourt to Dumars for an easy basket.

That made it 122-119 with 15 seconds left. Orlando drew closer when Scott Skiles made two free throws with 8 seconds to go to make it 122-121.

The Magic needed a steal and got one when Jerry Reynolds stole an inbounds pass from Dumars. But Reynolds had to lunge for the ball, and by the time he regained his balance, he had stepped out of bounds with 5 seconds remaining.

That was Orlando's last gasp. The Magic were forced to foul, and the Pistons hit three foul shots before Orlando got the ball back again.

Theus said Dumars' defense on that crucial play was the key.

''I didn't get the shot I would liked to have had,'' he said. ''Taking a turnaround jumper with a guy in your face is a tough shot.''

The Pistons were aware of the Magic's ability, as Orlando split a two-game series with Detroit in the preseason.

''They are so much better than the other expansion teams,'' Dumars said. ''They play extremely hard, and they have three or four guys they can go to to get points.''

Five Magic players scored in double figures, led by Terry Catledge (27) and Theus (25). Sam Vincent had 18 points - all in the second half - and 10 assists. Sidney Green added 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Orlando missed Corzine. The Pistons were able to drive down the lane for some easy shots that Corzine might have prevented. Detroit was able to create some mismatches by isolating either Dumars or Thomas on one side of the basket. One of the guards would play a two-man game with with Pistons center Bill Laimbeer (14 points, 10 rebounds). Either Laimbeer or one of the guards would take the shot, and Orlando never really handled the play.

Detroit led, 64-63, at halftime, but the Magic's play flourished at the start of the third period. They ran out to leads of 3, 5, and 10 points. A spectacular three-point play by Theus put the Magic ahead, 76-66. Theus hit a long jumper, was fouled, and the ball bounced on the rim five times before fouling through. Theus then added the free throw.

A basket by Sidney Green made it 78-66, but Detroit took advantage of a sudden string of turnovers by the Magic to overtake Orlando and build a 96-91 lead by the end of the period. The Pistons never trailed again.